Palladium Books® Weekly Update – Sept. 22, 2017

One game system – every genre – countless worlds – endless adventure

By Kevin Siembieda

It has been a productive week and there is a lot going on. In addition to work on various game projects, we are quietly working on a number of things behind the scenes. That includes updating our website and making it much more mobile platform friendly, posting Murmurs, updating our catalog, working with retailers and distributors, and making plans for the coming year. Books are blowing out of the warehouse so please keep the orders coming. We have a number of new titles in development now.

UPDATE: A fun Gen Con video interview

I keep forgetting to post a link to an interview I (Kevin Siembieda) did with Matthew Lemke at Gen Con for Through Gamer Goggles. It’s a fun interview, offers a bit of Palladium news we have not yet revealed about an upcoming Rifts® product release, and you get a glimpse of how busy our booth was. The interview took place Friday morning.

UPDATE: Rifts® Secrets of the Atlanteans™ “Gold Edition” Hardcover – available now

Rifts® Secrets of the Atlanteans™ Gold Edition, limited to 300 signed and numbered copies, has been shipping all week. If you have ordered one, it is on its way to you. Or may already be in your hands! The gold imprint of the magic tattoos on the faux black leather looks downright magical and classy. Very dynamic.

As I have noted before, Rifts® Secrets of the Atlanteans™ and Nightbane® Dark Designs™ are flying out of the warehouse and we sold out 120 copies of Atlanteans™ at Gen Con by Saturday. That makes me believe the Gold Edition will be a fast seller, especially as Christmas rolls around the corner. If you really want one, I would order it over the next five months, before it is gone. Sold on a first come, first served basis. Early purchasers get the lowest numbers.

UPDATE: Rifts® Secrets of the Atlanteans™

Rifts® Secrets of the Atlanteans™ is a hot seller. In fact, a fan who dropped by the Palladium office was rather wowed by it. He was surprised by the amount of new information and magic it contained. He promised to come back for it soon. He just needed to pick up a few crucial Rifts® Chaos Earth® titles for his Rifts® campaign first. He was also pleased to learn about the 2018 Open House and is excited to attend. FYI: Author Carl Gleba will be at the POH to game, sign books and chat. Note: Secrets of the Atlanteans should be hitting stores next week where it isn’t already available.

UPDATE: Nightbane® Dark Designs™ sourcebook – Available now

Nightbane® Dark Designs™, should be hitting store shelves next week with Rifts® Secrets of the Atlanteans™. Dark Designs is a dynamic sourcebook packed with information, Morphus tables, magical Talents (plus tables and Talents from prior books), the Ancient Nightbane and more. Remember, Talents and Morphus abilities can be easily turned into magic spells and super abilities for other world settings — and vice versa, made especially easy with the conversion rules in Dark Designs™. Take a look at the free preview on DriveThruRPG.com to get a glimpse of everything this resource-packed book has to offer. Author Mark Oberle is one of the 30-40 Palladium personalities attending the 2018 POH. Please keep those orders coming.

UPDATE: Rifts® Sovietski™ – coming soon

John Zeleznik – also planning to be at the 2018 Open House – sent in the finished cover for Rifts® Sovietski today. It looks great.

UPDATE: Dead Reign®: In the Face of Death™ sourcebook

I approved the cover concept sketch today. Art by E.M. Gist, the master of the macabre who has done all the zombie covers thus far. You’ll like it.

UPDATE: The Rifter® #78 – in final production

The Rifter® #78 is coming along nicely. I believe Charles Walton and other artists are all done with the art for the issue. Now it’s time to typeset and layout. This is another great issue with a range of awesome source material for Palladium Fantasy®, Rifts®, Splicers®, and Beyond the Supernatural™, including Greg Diaczyk’s BTS Modern Necromancer, plus G.M. advice, news and other goodness. ALL of it adaptable to just about ANY game setting. See the updated description in this update.

UPDATE: The Rifter® #79 – coming soon

The Rifter® #79 should quickly follow #78 as we work to catch up with this useful series. If you haven’t looked at an issue of The Rifter®, we recommend it. Each issue is filled with optional (sometimes “official”) source material. More importantly, most of the material can be easily modified and adapted to ANY game setting, especially adventures, monsters, villains, magic and technology.

Robotech® RPG eBooks on Amazon and iBooks – available now

Don’t forget, we have made current Robotech® core RPG titles available as ebooks. Palladium Books’ Robotech®: The Shadow Chronicles® Role-Playing Game, Robotech®: The Macross® Saga Sourcebook, and Robotech®: The Masters Saga™ Sourcebook are now available as eBooks, with more titles to follow. Robotech® RPG titles are available from the following eBook channels/sellers: iBooks (through iTunes), Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Google Play Books, Overdrive.com, Copia (copiaclass.com), Gardners Books, Baker & Taylor, E-Sentral, Scribd, Ciando, Hoopla, Playster, and more.

UPDATE: 2018 Palladium Open House – April 20-22, 2018

Game at the Palladium Books warehouse with the people who create the games you enjoy

Artists John Zeleznik (RUE art, Rifts® Japan and many covers) and Amy L. Ashbaugh (more of her fabulous work will appear in Garden of the Gods) are the latest to confirm they’ll be at the 2018 Open House! This is going to be a star-studded affair with creators like Jazzy John Zeleznik, Ramon Perez and Carl Gleba, who do not attend many conventions. It is very exciting for us, and we hope it is exciting for you, too. This is going to be an awesome event, so come on over and enjoy the fun at the POH even if it’s just for a day!

And we expect more, including the possibility of ...

Note: Tentative means they have reached out to tell us they hope to be at the POH, but cannot guarantee it at this time.

2018 Palladium Open House – April 20-22, 2018

39074 Webb CourtWestland, MI 48185734-721-2903 (order line)

Admissions:

VIP Thursday – April 19, 2018 (special): 3:00 PM doors open and you get first crack at limited editions, original art, new products, specialty items, and meet the Palladium staff and all available creators – 6:00 PM dinner – 7:00 PM Opening Ceremonies – 8:00 PM the evening’s games begin. Cost of VIP night is $95 (dinner included). Limited to about 100-120 people plus Palladium creators. Note: VIP Thursday always sells out fast, so we offer around 60% of the tickets now, and the remainder at the end of January, 2018. Cost: $95 (Thursday only).

$129 per night for one “King Suite” – SUITE is the important part of this request – and it comes with one king bed and a pull out sofa, but PLEASE confirm that with the hotel. See more complete details in the online store description.

Airport Note: The hotels and Palladium’s warehouse are 15-20 minutes from Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) in Romulus, Michigan, near I-275. Detroit Metro is the airport you want to use.

The Rifter® #1-72. Each issue is a wealth of source material and ideas for several game lines, but most material can be easily adapted to ANY Palladium game world. Each issue a gem.

Splicers® RPG is Iron Man meets Game of Thrones with elements of Terminator – except this army of Iron Men are clad in living body armor and wield living, organic weapons and devices. Created in 2004 by writer and game designer Carmen Bellaire, Splicers® was nominated for an “Ennie” Game of the Year award, and has since developed a rabid fan-base. Science fiction and horror where humans are forced to use genetically engineered, living weapons and organic war machines to battle an insane Artificial Intelligence and her robot legions. Unlike anything you have ever played before!

Palladium Fantasy RPG® first edition rule book and sourcebooks. 2nd edition sourcebooks to come. Not your father’s fantasy RPG, this is a unique world of magic, monsters and heroes. Many nonhuman player characters and 50,000 years of history.

Heroes Unlimited™ RPG first edition rule book and sourcebooks. Heroes Unlimited, 2nd Edition will be available by the end of September, with more HU2 sourcebooks coming. Create any type of superhuman.

Nightbane® RPG. Superhero-horror set in a world of dark conspiracy where the monsters are the heroes. Trust nobody.

Dead Reign® (Zombie Apocalypse) and sourcebooks. The dead have risen. It is the battle for survival in the zombie apocalypse, but this setting is much more than your typical zombie game. Play ordinary people or special characters better equipped to survive and hunt zombies. Many unusual types of zombies.

Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG. Supernatural horror in the modern world. Play ordinary people, psychics or paranormal investigators.

After the Bomb® RPG and sourcebooks. Planet of the Apes meets the X-Men! Animal creations, powers and more. Create any type of intelligent mutant animal you can imagine as friend or foe.

Alex and I continue to add a lot of vintage Star Wars toys and a growing number of all kinds of collectibles – and we’ll be adding more Palladium Books original art and items to the store, so keep an eye out for them.

This includes one-of-a-kind original artwork, prints, Rifts® and Robotech® artwork by Kevin Long, me and others. There is also a range of limited editions, rare book titles and limited edition hardcovers, toys and more that are all being added to my online store over the next several weeks, so keep an eye out. Alex and I will keep adding items as our busy schedules allow, but we have a lot of fun collectibles available now and coming soon. Items include original art, out of print titles, redlined proofreader photocopies signed by me and the staff, signed manuscripts with editors’ corrections, some original art, hardcover books (including Rifts® Lemuria, Northern Gun™ One, Northern Gun™ Two, Megaverse® in Flames™, Beyond the Supernatural™ Gold, Rifts® Machinations of Doom™ Gold and Rifts® Ultimate Gold) and other items available. There are also hundreds of toys and action figures, all from my personal archives and collection. Take a look every weekend for new items added.

Closing Thoughts

That’s it for this update. Enjoy Rifts®, Heroes Unlimited™ 2nd Edition, Robotech® (original series), The Rifter® and many other titles as PDFs from DriveThruRPG, and the new Robotech® RPG books as downloadable ebooks from Amazon and Apple iPhone/iPad for your mobile device.

After the Alliance trade show two weeks ago, Wayne had caught some con crud, so he has been dealing with a really nasty cold. A couple days ago I started to feel a bit under the weather, so I figured I was coming down with the same thing. I powered through a rough day yesterday, and thought I was feeling somewhat better this morning. Anyway, this afternoon I had been pounding away at the keyboard writing when Alex came to my door with a question. I tried to answer but to my surprise, I had no voice! Just a hoarse whisper. I hadn’t spoken to anyone in hours, so I didn’t know. I was supposed to have a Skype business call Saturday, but I fear I will have to postpone it. Sheesh. Pushed myself a little too hard I guess, with long hours and working weekends. Then Palladium’s business manager called. I could barely squeak out a conversation. He was quite adamant that I go home to get some rest. I think he’s right, so I’m going to call it a day and get some rest so I can get back at it as soon as possible. Have good weekend. Stay healthy, happy and safe. And keep those imaginations burning bright.

– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher, Writer and Game Designer

New! The Rifter® #78

Another issue of source material for four or more Palladium game settings, most of which can be adapted to any game world. This issue has a nice hunk of material about the supernatural, such as the Modern Necromancer by Greg Diaczyk, a Beyond the Supernatural™ monster by Kevin Siembieda, City of Khemennu: Part Two (Palladium Fantasy) which is a city of gods and churches by Ian Herbert, plus G.M. Advice and the Splicers® Legion Aftermath. Shaping up to be another great issue.

Every issue of The Rifter® is an idea factory for players and Game Masters to generate new ideas and find new avenues of adventure. It provides useful, ready-to-go source material you can just drop into your ongoing games. A doorway to new possibilities and numerous Palladium role-playing worlds. And the many new characters, O.C.C.s, powers, magic, weapons, villains, monsters, adventures and ideas for one setting can be easily adapted to any Palladium setting. Every issue has material for Rifts® and usually 2-3 other Palladium game lines. The focus of this issue is Rifts®, Splicers® and RPG advice. Don’t forget, unofficial material can be easily adapted for use in ANY Palladium game setting.

The source material in Rifts® Secrets of the Atlanteans™ is so awesome and the Atlanteans and Sunaj are so iconic, Palladium is making a limited edition, signed and numbered collector’s hardcover. Contains the same source material as the softcover edition. Signed by the Palladium staff.

Black faux leather hardcover with metallic gold imprint.

Signed by the Palladium staff.

Numbered 1-300 and sold on a first come, first served basis. The number you receive is based on the order in which orders are received.

Pre-orders for the Gold Edition MUST be placed separately, not with other books. Your credit card will be charged when you place the order, including shipping, but this item will not ship until sometime in August. (It takes longer to get a hardcover printed and bound than the softcover.)

All the same great material that is in the softcover. 60+ new Magic Tattoos. 60+ Shadow Magic spells. 30+ new Crystal Magic spells and the Crystal Mage O.C.C., the Stone Master, revisited, Sunaj Shadow Mage and Shadow Assassin O.C.C.s, and more.

Rifts® Dimension Book 15: Secrets of the Atlanteans™ - Available now!

True Atlanteans are among the most mysterious and storied heroes across the Megaverse®. Forced to flee Earth more than 15,000 ago when Atlantis was lost, they have traveled the cosmos in search of new wonders and knowledge, and to wage war against supernatural evil. Masters of dimensional travel and the fabled Tattoo Magic, True Atlanteans have become renowned as vampire slayers and heroic Champions of Light. But there is also a festering darkness from within the Atlantean clans. A darkness that could destroy them all.

Learn about Atlantean civilization, the many clans, where they are found across the Megaverse, why they hide, and why they hate the undead so much. Also discover the power of Shadow Magic, the treachery of the Sunaj Illuminati, and much more.

60+ Magic Tattoos.

60+ Shadow Magic spells.

50+ Crystal Magic spells and the Crystal Mage O.C.C.

Stone Pyramids described and mapped.

Stone Master and Undead Slayer, revisited.

Sunaj Shadow Mage and Shadow Assassin O.C.C.s.

The dark history, shame, and secrets of True Atlanteans.

Learn more about the famous Atlantean Tattooed Warriors, Undead Slayers, Stone Masters and other Atlantean heroes.

Tremble at the terrible secrets of the Aerihman and their plans for inter-dimensional domination.

New! Nightbane® Dark Designs™ – Available now!

Nightbane® Dark Designs™ is a guide to creating the Nightbane and a sourcebook for players and Game Masters alike. It presents all sorts of new Nightbane creation tables, new Morphus tables, new Talents, and new information. Info and powers that enable players to make memorable Nightbane characters and G.M.s to take their games up a notch.

18 new and comprehensive Morphus Tables.

60 new Common Talents.

38 new Elite Talents.

Transformation Transition Table.

Talent creation and conversion rules.

Ancient Nightbane R.C.C. fully statted out and creation tables.

Insight to the Becoming.

Answers to some common questions & more.

Appendix of 23 Morphus Tables gathered from the Nightbane® RPG and Sourcebooks.

Appendix of 53 Talents gathered from the Nightbane® RPG and Sourcebooks.

Written by Mark Oberle. Cover by Charles Walton II and Eduardo Dominguez.

The Raw Preview Edition of Nightbane® Dark Designs™ is an advance copy of the unedited, unillustrated, final working manuscript for this exciting new sourcebook. A rare look at the raw manuscript before publication. Limited to a total of 150 copies, sold on a first come, first served basis.

Nightbane® Dark Designs™ is a guide to creating the Nightbane®, and a sourcebook for players and Game Masters alike. It presents all sorts of new Nightbane creation tables, new Morphus tables, new Talents, and new information. Info and powers that enable players to make memorable Nightbane characters and for G.M.s to take their games up a notch.

The Rifter® #77 – available now

Adventure, madness, strange creatures and strange lands fill this issue of The Rifter®. This issue is a playground for heroes and a source of adventure, but beware the danger that lurks in the shadows.

Every issue of The Rifter® is an idea factory for players and Game Masters to generate new ideas and find new avenues of adventure. A doorway to new possibilities and numerous Palladium role-playing worlds. And the source material can be easily adapted for use in ANY Palladium game setting.

Rifter® #77 Highlights:

Rifts® – City of Nowhere – an adventure setting – by Brett Caron. Capitalism, magic and dark secrets build an enchanted city with a dark underbelly that may not hold.

Palladium Fantasy RPG® – the city of Khemennu adventure setting by Ian Herbert. A holy city dedicated the Church of Light and Dark, and resting place of the legendary Sun Disc. A place of intrigue, magic and adventure.

Splicers® – I am Legion, Part Six – by Charles Walton II, Chris Kluge and Lance Colley – “official” source material. This is it! The final battle against Legion! The Legion personality and her Black Shroud armor statted and described. Secrets and dangers revealed about the Factory Walker and more. Even in victory, the world may never be the same.

Note: The Rifter® #76 and #75 are also available and packed with official source material for Rifts® and other game settings.

NEW! Rifts® Living Nowhere™ – A Rifts® Sourcebook set in the Pecos Empire

This title presents three interrelated towns off the beaten path in the Pecos Empire. Each with its own unique character and problems. All fun locations to visit and find adventure and trouble. Something dark and deadly is brewing in the middle of Nowhere, where experimental Techno-Wizard devices and weapons offer prosperity, but could be the doom of everyone living there. Big ideas. Building upon material that appeared in The Rifter®, expanded.

NEW! Garden of the Gods™ – A Palladium Fantasy RPG® Sourcebook

This has been a secret project of Kevin Siembieda’s that he has been plotting and writing in what little spare time he has. The Garden of the Gods is said to be a holy place watched over and even frequented by the avatars of the gods. According to legend, the god may visit heroes and followers in dreams or in person by an avatar of the god, to be given guidance, inspiration, heroic quests, and gifts of knowledge and magic. More details about this title will follow.

The Garden of the Gods described in detail.

Godly insight and visitations.

Gifts of magic and knowledge.

Sanctuary and more.

The Black Pit, a place of evil and dark secrets. Is it a counterbalance to the good of the Garden, or a trick of the Old Ones?

Rifts® The Disavowed – A Secrets of the Coalition States™ Sourcebook

“Desperate times require desperate measures. War has nothing to do with morality or justice. It’s all about winning or dying. We cannot bind our hands with high ideals, even our own, or worry about the laws of renegade nations or the rights of alien people. We must fight fire with fire. And you are the match.” – Colonel Lyboc addressing a Disavowed team.

The Disavowed are so Top Secret that their existence is known only to a handful of the Coalition States’ most elite, top echelon, with Joseph Prosek II the mastermind behind the Disavowed operation, and Colonel Lyboc its shadowy face. Find out who these men and women are. How the Disavowed get away with using magic, traveling to other parts of Rifts Earth and even to other dimensions in pursuit of enemies and strategic information that cannot be had through conventional means. Learn about the secret parameters in which these hard-boiled warriors, secretly hand-picked by Joseph Prosek II, operate, why almost every mission is considered a suicide mission, and why they must forever be the Disavowed.

CS operatives so secret that even the top military and political leaders right up to Emperor Prosek know nothing about them. And if they did know, would they condone their activity or condemn it?

Are the Disavowed heroes or renegades? Assassins or soldiers? Madmen or super-patriots? Or a little of them all?

Unsung heroes who keep the CS safe, or thugs and pawns of a shadow agency within the Coalition government?

What role does the Vanguard play in this group?

How do they reward their D-Bee “teammates” when the mission is over?

What happens to the Disavowed when they have seen or learned too much? Adventure ideas galore and so much more.

New! Rifts® Sovietski™

The Rifts® Sovietski™ World Book presents background information on the fledgling Sovietski nation, notable cities and people, politics, and its growing army, plus Deadzones, Spetsnaz Special Forces, new bionics, Russian D-Bees, and more.

New! In the Face of Death™ – A Dead Reign® Sourcebook

This sourcebook is all about inner city survival. Survivor colonies finding ways to live and prosper in the big city. Conventional wisdom says that living in the big population centers is impossible. These survivors prove otherwise.

Robotech® RPG Tactics™

Robotech® is getting hotter and hotter. It is the Number One Anime on Crackle, the Robotech® movie from Sony Pictures sounds like it is going to be become a reality, more Robotech® licensed products are appearing, and Palladium is gearing up toward the release of Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Wave Two and more Robotech® products. Ah, but the core game and expansion packs to get you started are available right now.

Robotech® RPG Tactics™ is a fast-paced, tabletop combat game that captures the action and adventure of the Robotech® anime. Two or more players can engage in small squad skirmishes or scale up to massive battles. Relive the clashes of the First Robotech War, engage in stand-alone tactical games, or use the dynamic game pieces to enhance your Robotech® RPG experience. Or simply collect your favorite mecha from an expanding range of top-notch game pieces. Get yours now.

Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Convention Exclusives – now available to anyone

These dynamic pieces are available as a regular item in the Palladium store. They are powerful fun and only have 4-6 parts, so they are easy to put together. They look awesome on your shelf or in your game. Get yours while supplies last.